The Black Emperor's Life
by mag3
Summary: A mostly fluffy LelouchxHarem story. Set in an alternate universe where the emperor dies due to something stupid and a 14 year old deal he made with Marianne comes into play. I don't plan on having too much drama or conflict, there will likely be Lemons within a few chapters, I will change it to M when that occurs.
1. Chapter 1

**In this story Lelouch performed the initial Zero act but after Saitama he held off on creating the black knights, because Nunnally wanted to go on the trip to lake Kawaguchi, so he went along as well. That is where the story starts.**

"This is an emergency broadcast from the homeland," the announcer said before the screen changed over showing the second prince and prime minister standing there at a podium.

"Citizens of Britannia, I Schneizel el Britannia, stand before you on this tragic day, today my family has lost more than it has ever lost in a single day for over seven years." The voice of Schneizel said from the T.V. "My Father, Charles zi Britannia, was found dead this morning. Faced with this much loss many of my siblings cannot face the people, yet we must remain strong in this trying time. An autopsy performed on my father revealed that he died of a heart attack in his sleep. It was discovered that his Cholesterol had increased considerably over the past seven years, he always had a sweet tooth, something many of us inherited, but after the death of lady Marianne his consumption increased dramatically." Schneizel said. "After reviewing his will it was discovered that he had a special clause, put in place 14 years ago, stating that should he die due to a heart attack, a video recording should be played to the nation, revealing the next heir."

An image of the emperor appeared on the screen. Unlike his usual pristine appearance, he appeared annoyed and had some jam on his face directly below his lip.

"Alright Mari fine, I Charles Zi Britannia hereby declare, should my death come due to a heart attack caused by my own lack of control with regards to unhealthy foods." He glared "I hereby disinherit every royal line other than the Vi Britannia line, not that any of the others are actually mine. How was that?"

"Perfect dear," Marianne said.

"Can I have my box back then?" Charles said.

"You seem eager as ever to have Lelouch take the throne." His wife retorted though handing him the box. "He's only three years old remember."

"The doctors give me 25 years still, even with my current consumption, he will be old enough by the time I clock out." Charles joked taking out a jam doughnut.

"And I want to have a husband I can dote on my grandchildren with when I'm turning grey," Marianne said.

"Well aren't you the one that always tells me that 'I want doesn't get.'" Charles quipped.

"And to think I was going to give you another child if you take this poor care of yourself, how well would you treat them." Marianne joked.

"You are kidding aren't you," Charles said.

"Who knows," Marianne said.

"Come on, Bismark keeps making fun of me for being the only emperor to not touch his harem," Charles said.

"And who's fault is that," Marianne said.

"Your's, have you seen you, the moment I laid eyes on Marianne Lamperouge, I was under her spell, how could I ever touch any other woman in my life," Charles said.

"I'm going to need to keep ahold of that silver tongue of yours," Marianne said taking the box of doughnuts off Charles' lap and replacing it with herself. The two started kissing before Schneizel cut the feed.

"For fear of this announcement becoming not suitable for minors we have cut the feed of the video. As was stated at the beginning, all royal lines with the exception of the vi Britannia line are now considered illegitimate, myself included, to maintain order all current appointments will persist until further notice. That includes Military and government, in all territories." Schneizel said. "Finally, the circumstances surrounding Lelouch vi Britannia, the heir to the throne, are vague at best. Regardless we will do our utmost to ensure that the role of emperor is filled as soon as possible. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA"

Almost Immediately afterwards the news switched back to the developing situation at the Lake Kawaguchi convention centre. Rivalz just stared at the screen terrified, aside from Suzaku and Kallen all of his friends were there, Nunnally had insisted she wanted to go, and Lelouch he wanted to make sure he went with her.

Inside the convention centre. The hostages were left unaware of the sudden power vacuum in Britannia, or it's effect on rescue efforts. The Student Council was sat around Nunnally's chair, Shirley and Milly were explaining what was going on the Nunnally. Nina was struggling to keep her fear under control. When one guard walked by she accidentally slipped out, "an Eleven."

"What did you just say?" The man yelled.

"I, don't, no, stop." Nina struggled to get words out.

"Lulu, what do we?" Shirley started to ask.

"Don't say a word." He commanded then stood up.

"Leave her alone," Lelouch said. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the empire. I demand you take me to meet your leader." Lelouch said.

"A prince huh?" The guard said leaving Nina alone and going to grab Lelouch.

Lelouch was brought up the building. When he was with only two guards he geassed them to do as he said. He took the gun from one of them.

Cornelia was struggling to keep those not loyal to her personally from making decisions that could compromise the safety of the hostages, specifically Euphemia. She was dealing with the news of her father's, no not her father's if what he said was true, the Emperor's death herself. But right now the hostages needed the viceroy Cornelia, the witch of Britannia, to get them out safe and sound. She looked towards the building then the T.V. came back to life showing the face of Kusakabe.

Back inside the hotel.

"Sir we have someone here claiming to be prince Lelouch." The guard said.

"Oh really, bring him in," Kusakabe said. Lelouch entered and the guards remained outside, but in truth went back to release the hostages and get them to the boats. Kusakabe turned on the stream and was about to restate his demands and add his royal captive.

"Why did you do this?" Lelouch asked interrupting Kusakabe, his voice shocked the royals watching the event unfold.

"Why, for Japan obviously, a Britannian prince like you could never understand what it means to lose your home, everything you have ever had," Kusakabe said, Lelouch just smirked at that statement, he had no idea.

"Are you sure about that?" Lelouch asked. "Not understanding your enemy is the biggest mistake you can make."

"I'm going to prove the Japanese aren't dead yet, even if I die here I will die a martyr, now shut up boy." Kusakabe said.

"So you're no better than Clovis then, you don't care for the lives you take, just that you come out smelling of roses," Lelouch said.

"What?" Kusakabe said.

Lelouch stood up and took out his gun, he pointed it at the Japanese soldier. The shock giving him just enough time to get the upper hand. "You have taken innocents hostage, and already you have taken the life of one. You are no better than those you oppose."

"What, how did you?" Kusakabe asked.

"Britannia will not fall to terrorism," Lelouch said darkly. "The senseless slaughter of Innocents will not continue. I will bring an end to it. I will make sure that tragedies like Shinjuku and Saitama never happen again by removing men like you. The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed as such, I Lelouch vi Britannia sentence you." He cocked the gun. "To death."

"Long Live Japan," Kusakabe said attempting to rush Lelouch with his sword.

BANG

"At least you didn't beg for your life. Everyone should be on the boats by now. But what now, I can't go back into hiding, I revealed myself in front of a room full of people, maybe they will buy that it was a lie." Lelouch mused then left the room.

The world was still. That was the new emperor of Britannia, he himself had brought himself before the leader of the terrorists and killed him without a shred of remorse. He did so, after calling for an end to the merciless slaughter of innocents. Britannia felt both pride and fear at the boy they just saw. He just took the life of a terrorist, then left as if nothing happened.

Lelouch made it down to the boats and got on with Nunnally and Milly.

"That was stupid of you," Milly said.

"I wasn't going to let them kill Nina." Lelouch said. "Not when I could stop them."

"You know you probably won't be able to stay in hiding now." Milly said.

"I know, I wasn't thinking, I just, I didn't want to lose any of you." Lelouch said.

When the boat touched ground the media were distracted asking everyone else questions. So Lelouch, MIlly and Nunnally tried to slip away. Unfortunately, they were stopped by a soldier as they tried to slip away.

"Hold on." A voice said behind them as they made their way away from the chaos. They turned around and saw Suzaku standing there, in his jumpsuit.

"Suzaku?" Lelouch asked.

"Nice suit," Milly said then turned to Lelouch. "I have an idea for the next..."

"Thank god you're all ok," Suzaku said walking over to them interrupting Milly. "Did you hear the news whilst you were in there?" Suzaku asked.

"The news?" Milly asked.

Suzaku nodded. "You should probably watch the announcement, it's kind of important to the state of the world. We have a recording in my corps truck."

Lelouch was tempted to skip but decided to follow Suzaku back to his truck, if there was news that Suzaku said he should see, even if it meant going into a military truck he would trust him. There he met Lloyd and Cecile they were nice enough and let Lelouch, Nunnally and Milly watch the announcement that they missed earlier, then the video of Lelouch killing the terrorist.

"Well, your Majesty. I must say that was quite the show you put on, are you sure you had no idea the video was active?" Lloyd asked a still shocked Lelouch.

"Yeah, with how dramatic you were with it all you would think it was rehearsed," Milly noted.

"That's not the problem right now," Lelouch said.

"Yeah well you are a prince, you should have expected that you might end up needing to take the throne," Milly said calmly clearly to try and lighten the mood instead of providing actual support. "Besides think of the perks."

"Perks?" Lelouch asked.

"If you are and I quote 'Nothing like that man.' then you get to enjoy your own harem," Milly said.

"You're insufferable," Lelouch said.

"You love me really," Milly replied.

"Do we need to go back now?" Nunnally asked.

"I probably do. The empire is on the brink of collapse and as much as I hate it, I have basically just been handed the key to turning this world around. I can make the gentle world you wanted." Lelouch said. "But if you want to stay out of the public eye you can, if you want to stay at Ashford we can act like I met you during our time there and used you for my cover story and you can stay in hiding." Nunnally grabbed his hand and shook her head.

"I want to stay with you, no matter what," Nunnally said.

"We should probably save the other hostages from their new captors in the media," Milly noted pointing at the news vans outside.

Lelouch walked out of the truck with Milly, Suzaku and Nunnally. He pointed his gun in the air and shot it. The sound overpowered all of the other noise and everyone turned to him. Whilst tempted to begin barraging him with questions they had just established he was not afraid to fire a gun in a crowded place.

"I'm only going to say this once so listen up, the survivors and their families want to reunite in peace. As for the media, I'll be making a public statement tomorrow, go home for the night and get some rest. You've got enough for tomorrow's headlines." Lelouch announced. With the uncertain character of the new Emperor, the media was quick to disperse, they didn't want to risk their lives or worse press credentials over a few emotional pictures of the hostages.

"That works but I wouldn't say it was right." Suzaku said.

"Sometimes it's not about the means or the ends, but the optics." Lelouch said.

"Already thinking like an emperor, good start." Milly joked.

"Optics?" Suzaku asked

"Now they can see that I care about the hostages genuinely and that I'm not afraid of using force when necessary," Lelouch explained.

"Setting yourself up as the strong-armed father figure of the country," Milly said. "Should I start calling you daddy?"

"You're older than me." Lelouch stated. "And with my father figure, I'd be the single worst example for anyone to take after."

The four made their way through the reuniting families and approached the military, the soldiers just saluted and let them pass, after the show today there were probably very few people that wouldn't recognise him. He found Cornelia talking to a pink haired girl he thought he saw among the hostages. He walked over to her.

"Lelouch." Cornelia said as she saw him. The pink haired girl turned as well and looked at Lelouch. "It really is you" Cornelia said sounding relieved. "When I heard your voice I was so scared, I was certain I was hearing things, but then you, you saved them, you saved her." Cornelia said rushing to her brother and hugging him.

"Her?" Lelouch asked, did he not notice someone important in the hostages, but who could it. Then it struck him, and by it I mean the pink haired girl, she had removed her hat and he recognised her immediately. "Euphie?" Lelouch asked.

"It's me, but more importantly." She backed away from the hug she had caught him in and smacked him on the arm. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" she yelled. "You could have been killed!"

"Sorry, it won't happen again." Lelouch said, sounding like a child getting scolded, he had learned better than to challenge a woman when they were nagging him.

"Good." Euphemia huffed, then went down to hug Nunnally. "And don't think I forgot about you Nunna."

"Euphie, it really is good to see you again." Nunnally said. "Cornelia is here too right?"

Euphie nodded but punctuated it with an affirmative sound. Cornelia smiled down at the two girls then turned to Lelouch.

"I doubt you will have seen it, but there was an announcement from the homeland whilst you were…" Cornelia started.

"We saw it." Milly stated. "Suzaku caught us trying to slip away and convinced us to come watch it with him. Just as well he did, I doubt even Lelouch was prepared for what happened, and he has a plan for everything."

"Not everything." Lelouch said.

"You have a contingency for the event that your mother is a ghost possessing one of the knights of the round." Milly stated flatly, this gave Euphemia and Nunnally a good laugh and Cornelia stifled one.

"To be fair, I was off my head on meds the day I came up with that, and need I remind you who it was that mixed your grandfather's medicine with the skittles." Lelouch said making MIlly cackle.

"I never got to see it yet. Neli was lecturing me until you showed up." Euphemia said with a smile.

"I'll get her to watch it later tonight, for now, what do we do?" Cornelia asked Lelouch. This seemed out of character for her, she never asked for instructions, or orders, but with the state of the world right now they needed a leader and Lelouch was supposed to be it.

"We will rest for the night. Let the news of today sink in for everyone. Tomorrow we'll make a statement to Britannia. Once I'm done here, we will head back to Pendragon."

"We?" Cornelia asked. "But I still need to…"

"As I said 'once I'm done here'. It shouldn't take too long." Lelouch said cockily "And we might not get vengeance, but Japan will be under control within the week."

"Not setting the bar a little high there are you?" Suzaku said.

"Not at all." Lelouch said he then yawned.

"I suppose I can hear your grand plan tomorrow." Cornelia said ending with a yawn of her own.

"Today has been pretty long for all of us." Milly said. "Where will you two be staying?" She turned to Lelouch and Nunnally.

"We're coming back with you. Can't have you going through my stuff whilst I'm away." Lelouch said.

"We will see you again right?" Euphemia asked.

"Don't worry Euphie, I'm not going to leave you alone again." Lelouch said earning a blush from Euphemia.

"I won't either." Nunnally also said as she was wheeled away.

The following day.

Lelouch didn't get a proper night's sleep. C.C. had his bed and he didn't really feel like fighting her for it. So he went and slept on the couch. Because of that, he was grouchy in the morning. It didn't help that Milly was there first thing to tell him that Ruben wanted to talk with him. He knew he needed to talk to the head of the Ashford family. He would need to explain his plan to him, he needed allies and the Ashfords were as loyal as they come.

His discussion went well until Milly came up. Ruben stated that many years ago there had been talk of having Lelouch and Milly wed, this was something that both her parents were banking on. Lelouch was personally opposed to it because he wanted Milly to make the choice. Her parents were adamant and said that if not him they would likely arrange a marriage for her shortly. Lelouch said he would talk to her about it.

He took a quick trip to the student council room, he wanted to talk to his friends on the council, he felt he owed them that much at least, before he went away. and if he could, they may prove to be valuable allies in the future. He entered and there was only Nina sat at her computer like usual.

"Good morning." He said.

"Lelo-Your majesty, I didn't think you would come back here." Nina said in shock, he took a peek at the computer and spotted the video of him from last night.

"So you heard about that too huh?" Lelouch asked.

"Well, it is the biggest news in the world right now. But I wanted to know, why did you keep it from us?" Nina asked meekly.

"Well, number one is who would believe me." Lelouch said, Nina thought for just a moment then nodded.

"I guess you are right. But the other reasons?" Nina asked.

"Well me and Nunnally didn't want to be royalty," Lelouch said. "When our mother was killed, I went to my father to demand answers." Nina gasped, "It seems stupid now, but I'm glad I did it. It made me wise to the world we live in. If I had stayed in Pendragon I never would have learned what a cruel world he created. He exiled me and Nunnally to Japan. Six months later, Japan was invaded, Luckily we were out of the shrine when the airstrikes hit."

Nina sat in silence, she had no idea he went through something like that.

"Once the war was done, me and Suzaku carried Nunnally to the Ashford family, since they were old allies of our mother they agreed to take care of us. That was how we ended up here, I've always resented my father for it." Lelouch said.

"How are you so strong?" Nina asked. "You went through so much but you are still so…" Nina started.

"Nunnally needed me to be strong. If I relented, for even a day, then we might not be alive today." Lelouch said. "Milly told me about what happened to you." Nina looked down. "I know you are still struggling, but if you think you aren't strong then let me tell you this. I've never seen someone who went through what you did still go to school, still try so hard." Nina blushed a little at that. "Why is it that you keep trying?" Lelouch asked.

"My father, when he found out what happened, he got mad at me." Nina said quietly, "He said that I was no good to him now, no man would want me now." Nina started crying a little. "He sent me to live in the dorms after that. Since I was no good to him, he got rid of me."

Lelouch held her, there wasn't any meaning behind it, but at the moment he just knew that she would need someone to just hold her.

It was at that moment that Shirley decided to enter.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm not a fan of authors notes, even less so as responses to reviews, however I will take this chance with the arrival of the second chapter to answer some of them, don't expect this with every chapter, if I do respond to one, especially a criticism, then it will be through the story.**

 **Q: Who's in the harem?**

 **A: Never been one for a saturated Harem so this story will involve Nina, Shirley, Milly, Kaguya, Kallen and Euphemia. This is so that I can try and give them all a decent amount of focus.**

 **S: Start looking for a beta reader.**

 **R: I'm more or less my own beta reader, I use the app to listen to my own story when I'm working. That lets me hear any spelling adn grammar mistakes since they are more apparent when heard aloud, typically I will go back and fix any problems I encountered when I was listening once I get home.**

 **S: Cornelia and Euphies Reaction was weird**

 **R: You're right, I ret-conned that, but I'm still not confident in it, go back and check it but you can get the gist from this chapter.**

 **S: Lemons would be great.**

 **R: It's been my intention, I will change the rating however sex before marriage is a sin so you will need to wait until I reach that point.**

 **Luckenhaft: I have recently read that story myself and I didn't see it until I had already written this one, naturally I am considering a renaming, so as to not have the two confused, howev,er I am still coming up with names.**

Shirley was quiet, She had just walked in on Lelouch vi Britannia, the new ruler of Britannia, and her longtime crush, hugging their friend. She had never seen Nina show any kind of affection for Lelouch, she always thought that Nina wasn't interested in boys, given what she went through. But that didn't explain what she saw in front of her. It looked like Lelouch was the one who initiated the hug. She wanted to just walk in and say hi, that would separate them, she doubted they would keep up the embrace if they didn't think they were alone, neither of them struck her as the public displays of affection type. But she didn't instead she walked away and left them alone.

By the time Milly and Rivalz had arrived Lelouch and Nina had separated and were chatting away like usual. "I've never really been much for politics, but I'm guessing you are needing to find allies right now." Nina had said.

"Yes, the Ashfords are old friends of my mother's so I have no worries about their loyalties, the only problem would be Miranda, Milly's mother," Lelouch said taking back a sheet of paper from her.

"Bad mouthing my mother behind my back, how dare you," Milly said in mock anger. "Not invite me." She said taking a seat next to the two of them.

"She's pushing that issue again, much more than before," Lelouch said. Milly looked downwards

"Not surprising with what's happened, I'm not exactly opposed to it. But if you are dead set against it then..." Milly tailed off at the end and looking away from Lelouch.

"I would rather you got to make your own choices in life," Lelouch said. "I'm going to have lots and lots of political marriages in my future, whether I want them or not. I'll hopefully have at least one wife I actually care about but regardless of what happens this is about you, what do you want?"

"I need to think on it." Milly said calmly. "But I'll have an answer by the end of today."

"Alright then, take your time, it's a big decision," Lelouch said.

"What is?" Rivalz said inserting himself into the discussion.

"Milly's parents want her to get married when I was meeting with them and her grandfather earlier, offered her to me. Think of it as tying me to them, regardless of my current debts to them they wanted something more tangible, they had lost favour before, and they didn't like it." Lelouch explained.

"And you agreed?" Rivalz asked stunned. Nina seemed to look apprehensive about that.

"They said that if not me they would likely set up a marriage for her with another noble. With me owing them for taking care of me and Nunnally the hand of the Ashford heiress will be in high demand in the near future." Lelouch explained. "I told them I would talk to Milly about it. I don't like the idea of her being forced into anything, she is my friend before anything else, you all are, but I can't exactly spit in their faces, especially with me entering the role of emperor with no tangible allies among the nobelity outside of the Ashford family."

"Wow, that was all over my head." Rivalz said. "You got a simpler way of putting it?"

"Her parents want her marrying a noble, I'm their first choice, but I want her to make the decision. And no I can't tell them no just because I'm the emperor." Lelouch explained, Nina giggled at that clearly deriving joy in Rivalz being talked down to, that was a refreshing sound, Lelouch had never heard her so happy before.

"You seem in a good mood." Milly noticed turning to her green-haired friend.

"I talked with Lelouch earlier." Nina said, her 'about my past' was silent but noted by those in the room with an IQ over 150.

"That's good." Milly smiled then looked around. "Has anyone seen Shirley?"

"I saw her earlier, but I took a detour so she should have been here before me." Rivalz said.

"I'm impressed she showed up, after last night." Lelouch said remembering the shocked look on his friends faces when he told the terrorists who he was..

"She just bottles it up well." Milly said. "Give her some time alone, I'll just make sure she isn't doing anything destructive."

"Aren't you just the perfect mother figure?" Lelouch joked, he wanted revenge for last night. "Should I start calling you mommy?" He asked smuggly, Nina and Rivalz looked on in shock but they saw Milly's face and realised this was the two messing around with each other..

His smile shattered as Milly showed her experience and put him in his place. "I'll need to keep ahold of that silver tongue of yours." she smirked as the words left her lips. She decided to look him dead in the eye and lick her lips as well. That sent a shiver down his spine he would not soon forget. But one that was shortly overshadowed.

"I just remembered, I was rewatching that earlier and I noticed something." Nina started saying. Everyone turned to look at her. "They said it was 14 years old, and that Lelouch was an only child at the time so wouldn't that mean that it would be from around the time Nunnally was born?" Nina asked, Lelouch seemed to have an outright breakdown at that thought.

"They broadcast Nunnally's conception to the entire world." Lelouch said indignantly. "I need to track down every copy, every copy of a copy and destroy them, I need to use my geass and erase everyone's memories and, and, and." Lelouch seemed to be muttering incoherently when he said something starting with g.

"ANYway" Milly turned the conversation in a completely new direction, "Lelouch's deteriorating mental state aside, We have a party to plan."

"What?" Rivalz said.

"Lelouch has just revealed himself to the world and was made emperor in the same day. He's doing a press conference later but he will need to do some networking before heading back to Pendragon. If he can secure some allies here in Area 11 to take home with him then he will have a stronger base to work from." Milly said.

"But we're just students." Nina said.

"Yes, but we also happen to know the children of the vast majority of the nobelity here. Most of them will be taking over from their parent's in the near-ish future. With such a young emperor nobles will start thinking about their own heirs knowing that they will be key in the court, young people tend to appreciate their own better than they appreciate the elderly." Milly explained.

"That's true." Rivalz said. "But still, why do we need to organise it? Shouldn't he have people for that?"

"True, but he doesn't, yet and even then it may well end up being us." Milly stated making Rivalz look on in shock.

"We have organised a lot of events in the past." Nina observed.

"And they were much more interesting than a ball where nobles come to pat each other on the back and suck up to Lelouch." Milly said. "Besides this may well be the last time we get to organise a party as a council."

"I guess, but shouldn't we ask Lelouch about it first." Rivalz said.

"But what if someone has already sent a hard copy off earth, that is an entirely possible event that I will need to account for." Lelouch was mumbling to himself.

"Hey Lelouch, should we host a party for the nobles of area 11 to meet you?" Milly asked him.

"Yes, sure." Lelouch said before immediately returning to his 'planning'

"Is he in a fit enough state of mind to say yes?" Nina asked quietly.

"Fit enough for me." Milly said. "Nina, get started on the guest list, Rivalz you handle catering. I'm on gimmick duty."

"Does it need a gimmick?" Rivalz asked. He just got a look as if he had just asked the most obvious thing in the world.

In the government building.

"Euphie, come out." Cornelia said to her sister's door.

"Go away Nellie" Euphemia cried from the other side.

"It's not like it's the end of the world. Lelouch will sort it out." Cornelia said, in truth she was just as scared as Euphemia was, just as hurt, but she needed to put on a brave face, for her sister, for her men, for herself.

"You don't get it. I'm not worried about the future." Euphemia said. "I'm mad about the past, why didn't anyone tell us?"

"It was a state secret." Cornelia reasoned. "If word got out about it, this would happen, we only ever learned the truth because of Lady Marianne."

"Still it hurts, my whole life has been a lie." Euphemia said.

"You've still got me." Cornelia said. "And that will never change. No matter who we are, we are still sisters."

"But Lelouch and Nunnally." Euphemia said sadly.

"You could always marry your way back into their family." Cornelia said with a knowing smirk.

"Huh?" the sound came from Euphemia's room

"Didn't you always used to say. 'I'm gonna marry Lelouch!' you and Nunnally always got into fights over that." Cornelia teased her sister.

"AAAHHHH." Euphemia screamed and the sound started to get muffled as she apparently shoved her head into a pillow.

"He's supposed to be coming here at 2, so make sure you are ready, he may want us to appear during his speech." Cornelia said.

"Alright sister." Euphemia called from inside her room, clearly still recovering from the unexpected attack.

Just before 2 o'clock.

Lelouch wound up at the government building with Milly and Nunnally. During the car ride Lelouch and Milly got a chance to talk a little more about them potentially getting married. They agreed that it would give them a headstart on political alliances, and Milly was someone he knew he could trust to support his goals. the biggest problem was neither of them felt all that strongly for one another, as far as Lelouch could tell, sure Milly was attractive and kind and approachable, but he just never really saw her as a love interest due to his situation. However the idea was growing on him, she was one of his oldest friends after all, you didn't stay friends that long without at least liking each other's personality a little..

Milly for her part was being uncharacteristically tentative about the whole thing. She seemed adamant that if he did agree to it, for some reason she never said 'if she agreed', then he could get as many other wives as he liked, and she always seemed to make it about him. Despite Lelouch repeatedly asking for her what she wanted.

Nunnally chimed in on the conversation at one point, asking how they felt about each other. Lelouch claimed that it wasn't as important because of their situation and Milly was just as evasive. Nunnally noted that they were "A lot alike" when they answered her.

They arrived and were greeted by Euphemia and Cornelia, both of whom bowed to them.

"Welcome your majesty." Cornelia said with practiced control.

"That is going to take some getting used to." Lelouch said with a chuckle.

"You're telling me." Euphemia said getting back up.

"I've already contacted the main news outlets in the area crews are being set up for your announcement. Have you got it written already?" Cornelia asked.

"Indeed." Lelouch said.

"May I take a look over it, if it's not too much of a bother?" Cornelia asked.

"Very well." Lelouch said taking out a sheet of paper, he had printed a copy anticipating that they would want a transcript prior to the announcement. "I've already got it memorised.

"This is, surprisingly tame." Cornelia noted, sure she hadn't seen her brother in years, but there was very little in this speech, a lot of posturing, most of which she knew he could back up, a promise to maintain order throughout the territories and that service under his father wouldn't be forgotten. "Pretty standard, the kind of thing some advisor would write." Cornelia looked at him inquisitively.

"Well, I figured I should hold off on getting myself assassinated before I take the throne, being as inoffensive as possible would be a good start." Lelouch said with a shrug.

"A ball three days from now?" Cornelia asked, "And at Ashford?"

"Milly's idea, It will give me a chance to network before returning to pendragon. And since many of my former classmate will take over their parent's houses having it in a setting where their children will be more familiar with will help the up and coming lords and ladies to get a head start." Lelouch said. Euphemia looked on in awe, it was no wonder that Lelouch would be the one stepping into the role of Emperor, to draw that much effect from the organisation of a single party and setting. It was certainly something she couldn't do, she would have just objected to the party wholesale without doing any thinking. "Of course it will also give the terrorists of Japan a chance to come at me whilst I am still within reach." Lelouch said calmly.

"So you will need to double down on the defenses." Cornelia said.

"Or strike first." Lelouch replied. "Tomorrow I will meet with the NAC, I have reason to believe that if anyone is bankrolling the terrorists it will be the Chinese federation, or them. If I can bankrupt the terrorists they will be reduced to scrap weapons and IEDs, which with the completion of the blaze luminous, could be made redundant even for civilian attack within the next decade."

"And if they aren't behind it?" Cornelia asked.

"I will make the first controversial decision of my rule. I want you and Euphie back in Pendragon with us. Naturally, that leaves us with a vacuum where the viceroy should be here. I intend that, if they are not involved, a member of the NAC shall be made the viceroy." Lelouch said. Cornelia looked ready to argue but was silenced by Lelouch. "Think of it. Why would a terrorist go after one of their own, especially if they were helping their own people, any attack would ruin the public image of their group and support for them, along with all other cells would plummet, suddenly discontented citizens that were protecting them would report their neighbours who were involved? Whilst a non-Britannia would control the area, they would still answer to me so they could hardly 'reclaim' their country and they would still need to answer to the nobles of the area many of whom I will be meeting within the near future." Lelouch said.

"And you came up with all of this last night?" Cornelia asked an eyebrow-raising, she hadn't thought of any of this. His reasoning was solid, it was a solution she would never implement, but it was both non-capitulation and humanitarian.

"This morning actually, I never got much sleep last night," Lelouch said.

"This plan is all well and good, but what about the arms already possessed by terrorists, the JLF have multiple knightmares and we have no intel on whatever Zero is planning," Cornelia asked, checking the time, they needed to get moving.

"A friend of ours, Nina, noted that when I got her to read over my speech for me, she's a certified genius, but slightly more pessimistic than me." Lelouch said

"more pessimistic than you, I didn't think that was possible." Euphemia joked.

"Well, she said that the terrorists are already armed and even cutting their supplies would leave them still armed and dangerous enough to at least take another convention centre hostage. Which is why we will be attacking the JLF's main base directly after meeting with the NAC." Lelouch revealed.

"To get a force large enough to siege their base would take at least three days to mobilize," Cornelia said.

"Well, it's a good thing we won't be besieging the,." Lelouch said. "From what I have gathered their base is in the Narita mountains, yes?" Cornelia nodded, thinking shortly for how a student could get that information, but Lelouch was no ordinary student. "So we will simply burry them."

"We are due to start in five minutes." A public servant came in to inform them that they would be starting soon.

"I'll discuss it with you and the generals later, for now I've got a show to put on." Lelouch said following the man.

Shirley, along with the rest of the student of ashford academy that were living in the dorms were gathered in the gymnasium, News had spread so she along with Nina and Rivalz were separated from the rest of the student body for their own protection. Not that they thought they were in any danger, they just didn't have the answers that the entire student body desperately wanted from them, so it was a good idea to just keep them separate for now.

When the screen in front of them came to life everyone was both expecting and shocked to see Lelouch there. Whilst the news had broken the previous day and it had been all they talked about all day today. It was still not something they had gotten accustomed to, their aloof and disinterested vice-president becoming Emperor, it seemed a bit much for most of the students.

"Citizens of Britannia, I am Lelouch Vi Britannia, yesterday I was among those taken captive by the JLF, however in response to their actions I elected to act and those responsible were summarily punished." That sent a chill down the spine of those that had watched his actions, punishment indeed. "Due to my status at the time, I was not informed of the announcement of my father's death, nor the contents of his will and naturally I was unable to appropriately respond to the event in a timely manner. However now I have been properly informed of the events I am announcing my return to the homeland and acceptance of my birthright. I promise to all of Britannia I will rebuild the order we have all enjoyed for the last age." Most simply ate up what he said, however there were a few people who read into what he had said.

In the JLF's narita base.

"This is the one we looked after? To think that he would become emperor, it's as if he has forgotten what his country did to him and his sister." One of the generals said.

"It's disgusting, to think that even as the emperor dies his replacement is little more than a runt who lapped up his father's lies." another said.

Tohdoh sat watching the gathered men watching the speech and arguing. "We should take the chance whilst he is in Japan to attack him." Tohdoh's patience was running thin, first Kusakabe, now near all of the JLF seemed to be chomping at the bit to get themselves killed. Putting it out of mind he thought of back when he first met Lelouch.

"Chess?" Tohdoh had asked the young prince. He wasn't a fan of Britannia, but he was honour bound to treat these children with due respect for their position.

"Yeah, I always played it with my brothers. Have you ever played." Lelouch said with an honest excitement.

"I suppose I could play a single game." Tohdoh had resigned, he supposed that it would at least be a good learning experience, god forbid he would need to face Britannia, but knowing the kinds of strategy employed by the youngest of their royals may prove to be of use to learning the strategy of their generals. Within the next 20 minutes Tohdoh had learned the terror that was Lelouch vi Britannia, he was able to out maneuver him at every point. Only managing to successfully spring a single trap. The most striking part of the match was when Lelouch had moved his own king. A seemingly foolish move, and a chance that Tohdoh had attempted to capitalize on, but learned after he had moved his queen to check the young prince that he had used it as bait, something that could only ever be considered a terrible move. That was the moment that Tohdoh had learned that when facing Britannia, even what looks like a great opportunity can prove to be a feint.

He had employed that at Itsukushima he had purposely let slip to the enemy that many high value generals were holed up there, despite them already being MIA. Because of that he was able to bait the enemy into striking at him where he had the field advantage. Preset Sakuradite mines had detonated leaving the land unsuitable for the primitive knightmares which quickly succumbed to the tank fire. He took advantage of his opponent's confidence and used that to defeat them. However he knew for a fact that had he been facing Lelouch that day, he would not have survived, the britannian general was a fool and sent his soldiers in in a single wave not accounting for any level of resistance, that was not something the young prince had been susceptible too.

"Furthermore, I shall be hosting a ball in three days for the noble families in Japan to attend. It will be held at Ashford Academy, Invitations will be sent out beforehand." Lelouch had announced.

This had pulled Tohdoh from his thinking. He pictured the young prince picking up his king in that moment, this was the bait, he needed a show of force and what better than to create a beacon to call any uppity rebels to him and crush them. The worst part was.

"This is the perfect chance." The fools around him all agreed.

"We will claim vengeance for Kusakabe."

"Kampai" they shouted as Tohdoh sat in silence thinking of the board state when last he faced Lelouch, the fools around him only noticed a single move, not realising that this gave him three days of unimpaired action, since everyone who wanted a piece of him would wait for the publicized event, since they couldn't be sure of his location beyond that one event. That was barely enough time to organise an attack on a location in the settlement, but enough that they wouldn't be willing to pass up the chance, but if anyone could set up a trap in that time, it would be Lelouch. Tohdoh resigned to attempting to talk his fellow countrymen down, but understood that it would be foolish.

Simultaneously Kaguya Sumeragi was watching the speech herself, she was away from the rest of the leaders of the six houses, other than Kirihara the rest were resentful and stupid. Kirihara was only the former. Kaguya, whilst still unhappy with what Britannia had done to her country, her home, she knew Lelouch was not responsible. He was supposed to be her Prince afterall, she had met him before they invaded and spent a lot of time vying for his attention.

"Never once did he say Area 11, nor elevens. He even said Japan." She was giddy inside, whilst most would chop it up to a slip of the tongue or forgetfulness, Kaguya knew better, Lelouch is not that clumsy. His plan's plans had plans. Every word that comes out of his mouth has at least six meanings and more than anything. He hated his father.

"For all those who have served my father's Britannia, I must reiterate, your actions in service of the empire will not be forgotten easily." Lelouch had said. Kaguya was near enough ready to throw herself into his arms at this point. 'My father's britannia.', 'the empire', 'will not be forgotten'. Anyone who knew truly knew Lelouch would be able to read this like an open book.

"Will not be forgotten." Kaguya asked. "Or will not be forgiven?"

The last person who was watching the announcement, reading between the lines was the student at Ashford with the highest scores in Linguistics, besides Lelouch. She stood there, listening to his every word and hearing everything he didn't say. Every pointed remark, every double meaning, every mention of 'his father'. This wasn't a speech meant to placate the masses, she had heard enough of them from the last emperor to know one when she heard one, this, was a death sentence for the nobelity, for Britannia as they knew it and that only left her with one question. Why? Why would a prince want to destroy his own county? Why would a man who just gained the power to rule the world seek to destroy it? Why would Lulu do this?

These questions swirled in Shirley's head as she watched the speech come to a close. With only one thing sticking out in her mind. She needed to talk to him, the only question now, was how.

Kozuki resistance group base.

"What a pompous dick." Tamaki cried out as the speech ended.

"And to think I ever thought he might be Zero." Kallen said.

"You thought what?" Ohgi asked.

"When I was at school after Shinjuku, he told me not to tell anyone about Shinjuku, I started to suspect him, but then when I was in the.." Kallen blushed at the thought of what she was just about to say.

"When I was alone with him, I got a call from Zero, that was when he told me to meet him at the tokyo tower." Kallen said.

"Oh shit right." Tamaki interrupted her. "You could totally kill him." kallen went even more red as she thought back to the last attempt she had made on his life.

"What on earth are you saying?" Kallen asked.

"He's going to have a ball for the brits, your father's a duke so he will get an invite, if you tag along, dance with him, flirt a little, then when you get him alone." He motioned his finger going across his neck.

"I doubt it would be that easy." Ohgi said. "But it would be the best bet to get him, if we even want to try." He looked around, no one seemed particularly set on the idea, aside from Tamaki.

"Think of it, Britannia will have their emperor killed by the Japanese, then they go running with their tail between their legs." Tamaki claimed. "And think of it, we'd be frickin heroes."

"What would Zero do?" Kallen asked wondering what he was up to, they hadn't heard from him since they saved Suzaku, and he had been silent since Saitama.

"Well he killed Clovis when he got the chance, how is this any different?" Tamaki asked.

"I'll think on it." Kallen said as she left the room. Tamaki looked annoyed but Ohgi just looked concerned, something was tearing her up inside. He took off after her, he knew better than to prod her but if he could help her, at all, then he would.

"Kallen, you ok?" Ohgi asked.

"I'm fine." Kallen said turning away.

"Clearly, you're not, look I just want to help." Ohgi said taking a stance. "Something is tearing you up about this."

"I met him." Kallen said. "I've met him, I've met his friends, I've met." Kallen sighed. "His sister."

"So that's why." Ohgi said.

"She's blind, and can't walk. Even still she smiles all the time, because he's taking care of her." Kallen said.

"And you don't want to take him away from her." Ohgi said.

"How could I?, after she called me her friend, I can't just go and kill her brother, that would make me no better than. No, that would make me worse than the Britannians that…" She sniffled. "That killed Naoto."

"Kallen, don't do it." Ohgi said.

"But i'm the only one that can." Kallen tried to say.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should. Sometimes, inaction, is the best action you can take." Ohgi reiterated. Those were Naoto's words. He was the reason they lasted so long, he never took a risk, especially one with so many unexpected elements. It was only because of Tamaki jumping the gun that he was captured. "If we can't tell what will happen if we do, but we can tell if we don't, don't."

"I get it. Naoto never did bow, but, he knew when to keep his head down." Kallen said. "But I can't turn my back on Japan."

"Then don't, there's a lot you can do, outside of assassinating the emperor." Ohgi said.

"I swear, even if it costs my life, the Japanese will one day be able to hold their heads high, as Japanese, and not as Elevens." Kallen said.

"Just, don't die." Ohgi said. "Naoto would haunt me if I let anything happen to you."

Kallen laughed at that and the mood was lightened significantly.


	3. Chapter 3

**The following day.**

Lelouch paid a surprise visit to the NAC, or the six houses of Kyoto as they were known to the terrorist of the area. It was a surprise as when he turned up at the Sakuradite mines, it was just him. No visible escort, he requested to meet with the leaders and they reluctantly gave him an audience.

"Gentlemen" Lelouch said before turning to Kaguya "and beautiful young lady" She blushed immensely at his praise "it's good see you."

"It's a pleasure, your Majesty." Osakabe said, he sounded polite but Lelouch could see through them. He was the master of masks and no mask could hide the hatred these men felt for him. Though Lelouch was surprised by Kaguya's reaction, he would have thought she wouldn't act quite so docile with him, but that only served to assist in his goals here..

"So, what brings you here?" Kirihara asked smugly, he knew that Lelouch knew what he was up to, but he also knew that if Lelouch was meeting with them and not coming in guns blazing he was planning something.

"Taizo Kirihara" Lelouch said nostalgically, "It's been a long time, tell me, why do you think I am here, you've always been a smart man, hopefully age hasn't dulled your wits."

"You'll find it hasn't your highness, I assume it would be related to your interests in the sakuradite." Kirihara said tapping his cane on the ground indicating to the mines beneath them.

"Close, but not quite, I'm far more interested in what exactly you are spending your takings on. Given that from what I've seen the ghettos are still in as bad a shape as ever, I would be sure you would have wanted to help your fellow Japanese, yet they still suffer." Lelouch said with a mocking tone.

"The last two viceroys had little interest in our attempts to reconstruct the Ghettos, as such our efforts were impaired, they were little more than a money sink draining the economy." Yoshino stated defensively shuffling in his seat.

"That may be true, however." Lelouch produced some documents and placed them on a table in front of them. "These bank statements, claim you are spending an inordinate amount of money on an unrecognised 'development project'" Lelouch said triumphantly.

"Those are merely research endeavors into more efficient mining and discovering new veins." Munakata dismissed.

"Oh really now?" Lelouch said. "Then it has nothing to do with the numerous rebel factions in Japan receiving supplies from within the border."

"We would not be foolish enough to support terrorists." Kubouin said. "Really now, this is ridiculous, we have done nothing but support britannia since you invaded our country, we surrendered and have no interest in…" A man walked into the room and whispered something to Kubouin. "What, but how could they…" Kubouin regained his composure. "My apologies your majesty,I just received some unsettling news."

"I do suppose hearing that the base of your primary investment was buried would be unsettling." Lelouch said. Kubouin visibly recoiled

"What how could you possibly?"

"So the truth finally comes out." Lelouch said smirking, all of the men at the table looked unsettled.

"This was your plan from the beginning." Kirihara said shocked, he and his fellows were all caught, they could be executed within the next week for treason, Japan would be forever dead, he began to panic before looking at Lelouch again.

"The first step yes," Lelouch stated. "Naturally Kubouin, your involvement with the terrorists will see you in chains. It is unfortunate, I was looking for a good excuse to take over the Chinese federation."

"Only me?" Kubouin asked.

"Oh, are you going to indict your compatriots as well. Whilst I got what surmounts to a confession out of you." Lelouch smirked and looked towards the others before stopping on Kaguya for a second longer, she as well as Kirihara noticed this and the elder man began to get an idea of the Emperor's plan. "The others are still in the clear." Kubouin visibly paled at that.

"This is preposterous." Osakabe claimed. "What proof do you have of our dealings."

"That's two." Lelouch smirked. "And I believe I can build a case against the rest of you through the bank statements and the implication of the others." The entire room gulped, Kaguya was anxious, waiting to see where he was leading with this. Some soldiers entered the room and grabbed each of the members of the NAC. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to continue as you have been doing."

"Wait." Kirihara said as he was stood up. "At the very least let me tell you that the young miss Sumeragi had nothing to do with our dealings, she was far too young for us to involve her, we intended to draw her in in the near future, but in order to keep her from leaking she was ignorant of our actions." He claimed. As he did so a smirk appeared on Lelouch's face

"Very well then, I suppose I can understand, she was forced into a role she was not prepared for and you sought to protect her from it until she was ready, I can respect that at least." Lelouch said as the men were taken away.

When Kaguya and Lelouch were alone in the room once again she seemed to be genuinely afraid of him. He turned to her and gave a large smile. "It's been a while Kaguya, how have you been?" Lelouch asked kindly.

"I wasn't ignorant, I knew exactly what we were doing." Kaguya blurted out, inditing herself.

"I know." Lelouch said. "As did Kirihara, that show was mostly for the others."

"Show?" Kaguya asked in disbelief, he really was planning something with them all.

"Kirihara knows my disdain for what happened to Japan." Lelouch explained as Kaguya's eyes began to glisten over. "And he also knows how Britannian politics works, I needed a show of force, a show of my power. Suppressing the most terrorist infested area, that would be quite the show for the public."

"Then, what will happen to…" Kaguya started asking, worried for her mentor, she cared little for most of the other members of the six houses but she at least didn't want them killed.

"That will be up to the viceroy." Lelouch said.

"The viceroy, so Princess Cornelia…" Kaguya started thinking.

"However, I need her with me back in Pendragon. I'm in a very precarious position, so I need to find her a replacement, someone I can trust." Lelouch said.

"Then Princess Euphemia?" Kaguya said.

"Again, I need Britannian support for me in Pendragon, so I need someone loyal to me to hold on to Japan for me." Lelouch said.

"Then who?" Kaguya combed her brain to think of anyone that he could assign that was loyal to him.

"Well, since I can trust so few Britannian nobles in Japan I will need to turn to those I met before the invasion, but all of them, except one, is either dead or in prison for funding terrorism now." Lelouch mused out loud.  
"You couldn't mean…" Kaguya said looking up at him, stars in her eyes as she caught onto his plan.

"You've been getting trained for the bureaucracy of running a country your entire life, it's basically that, but with fewer steps, Britannia isn't as big on the whole 'democratic process'." On the word 'fewer' Lelouch was charged, and a pair of arms circled him.

"You really are my prince." Kaguya said hugging him.

"You are going to need to get used to saying, 'Area 11', sorting that particular matter will need to be dealt with in Pendragon. But, as of tomorrow, Kaguya Sumeragi, you will be named the viceroy of Area 11, Japan."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Kaguya said not letting him go.

"Now then, care to show me Kyoto's knightmare production floor. We can discuss your objectives as viceroy as we walk." Lelouch said. Kaguya let him go and grabbed his hand. She basically dragged him to the secret factories where they were producing the burai. The Gurren was also present. Lelouch talked with Rakshata Chawla, an Indian woman who was working with Kyoto in order to attempt to gain Independence for India from the Chinese federation. A quick word from Kaguya, and a promise of funding, as well as support from Lelouch, and Rakshata agreed that India's best bet would be to gain support from him.

" _The Japan Liberation Front, had their base located in the Narita mountains, buried earlier today in an operation masterminded by Emperor Lelouch himself, Andreas Darlton, who led the team who performed the operation, had this to say." The T.V. switched to an image of Darlton "I was sceptical when he first told us that we would only need 2 knightmares, the rest of the forces simply evacuated the area, preventing civilian casualties, then encircled the region. With only two knightmares, and an experimental weapon from the ASEEC, we were able to produce an artificial landslide, by performing this multiple times, we simulated an erupting volcano, blocking all but a tiny escape route that was scouted earlier. This escape route was then used as a funnel for all of the terrorists, we managed to capture an estimated 80% of the terrorists, whilst some of their Leaders, such as Katase Tatewaki, chose to commit suicide. We were, however, unable to capture other key members whom we believe were off-site at the execution of the operation." The T.V. switched back to the reporter. "What a truly terrifying move. It is also being reported that at the time of the operation the emperor himself met with the leaders of the NAC, who were found to be involved with the supplying of the terrorists. In one morning Lelouch Vi Britannia has quashed two major threats in area 11, perhaps by lunch tomorrow we will also know Zero's Identity." The reporter finally joked. "Back to you Cassie."_

Ohgi turned off the T.V. in the resistance base "You think we even stand a chance?" Sugiyama asked.

"I doubt it. Perhaps with Zero, but even then, this is no ordinary general." Ohgi said. "He's taken out the JLF, and Kyoto, in one day."

"I know, it's kind of terrifying, I wouldn't blame Zero for going into hiding." Minami replied.

"It's a bluff, how do we know they even actually did any of that." Tamaki said.

"Some other cells have corroborated the story." Inoue said as she walked into the room putting her phone away. "It's real."

"And Zero still hasn't said anything?" Tamaki asked infuriated. "He shows up makes a mess then leaves us hanging once some brat takes the throne." He scoffed and kicked the furniture.

"I was actually thinking about that." Inoue said. "What if Kallen was right at first. What if Zero really was that Lelouch guy?"

"That's crazy talk, she got a phone call from Zero when she was next to him." Tamaki said.

"If he could rescue Suzaku Kururugi like that, then It's not crazy to think that he could use a recorder, set up a situation where they are alone next to a phone and have it get called." Ohgi said thinking.

"You can't be serious. There is no way that Lelouch is Zero. He's the emperor, why would he help us?" Tamaki asked.

Once Lelouch got back from meeting with Cornelia and her forces to discuss what was happening at Narita, Milly had pulled him aside.

"I'll do it." Milly said looking him dead in the eye as the two stood in a secreted away corner of campus.

"Do what?" Lelouch asked, clearly he had been thinking about all kinds of things all day, the matter with Milly was at the back of his mind.

"Marry you." Milly clearly said a hint of red on her cheeks. "I've honestly liked you for years now. Even back before, everything happened." She looked away. "But I always thought that if I tried anything, then my parents would try and force you into returning to Pendragon, just so they could get their titles back, so I stayed away. But now that everything has happened and I can finally be honest with you." Milly grabbed his shocked face and pulled it close to her own. "I am in love with you, Lelouch vi Britannia, Lamperouge, whatever, it never mattered who you were, or who you wanted to be, and no matter what." She kissed him, it lasted for a good minute before the young emperor managed to escape the blondes clutches. "I will stay by your side."

When news reached Milly's families ears they were jumping for joy. Their daughter, had all but assured her position as first consort, that was a position of far greater prestige than they could have ever hoped for. Ruben Ashford, however, was happy for a different reason, 'so you finally got your claws into him', he was glad his granddaughter finally had the boy she liked, regardless of who he was. Although the fact that he was his surrogate daughter's son, was a major point in his favour.

It was decided that they would announce it at the party. It would make a great talking point, nobles loved discussing political happenings and how they were reacting to them. The news that the emperor was taking a wife was a big one, and Milly's insistence that he takes multiple and announce her as his 'first wife' would at least leave them a good starting position politically, many nobles would be keen to offer their daughter's to Lelouch and would likely make some concessions to him if they thought it would increase their chances at having their child become royalty. Whilst Lelouch wasn't particularly interested in the whole, multiple wives thing, he wasn't opposed to using it for political gain.


End file.
